Youth Access to Electronic Cigarettes in an Unrestricted Market: A Cross-Sectional Study from Poland

Background: Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youths in Poland has become very popular. The aim of this study was to identify the potential points of access to these products by students aged 16–17 years old before implementation of sales restrictions to minors in Poland in November 2016. Methods: A school-based, cross-sectional survey was administered in 2015–2016 in 21 secondary/technical schools across two regions of Poland. Analyses focused on 341 students aged 16–17 years old who reported their past 30-day use of e-cigarettes. Pearson Chi-square analyses were utilized to examine the associations between access-related items, e-cigarette use and demographics. Results: Among youth e-cigarette users, the most common access to their first e-cigarette was from a friend (38%), followed by purchasing from vape shops (26%). Similar patterns emerged when the students were asked about their access to the currently used e-cigarette. Most youths reported no difficulty in purchasing cartridges/e-liquid containing nicotine (90%). The majority of users (52%) reported buying such products in vape shops. Conclusions: Prior to implementing age-related sales restrictions, youth access to e-cigarettes and paraphernalia did not pose any significant barriers. Poland’s introduction of a new age limit on e-cigarette sales may help to limit the number of youths who purchase e-cigarettes from vape shops

Electronic cigarette youth access in Poland

Introduction Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youth in Poland become very popular. Since the onset of this product access to these products was unrestricted. The aim of this study was to establish functioning of channels of e-cigarettes supply among students aged 16-18 in Poland. Methods A school-based, cross-sectional survey was administered in 2016 to 21 secondary/technical schools across two regions of Poland. Analyses focused on students aged 16-18 who reported use of e-cigarettes (both exclusive use and dual use with tobacco cigarettes). After exclusions, 531 students (166 exclusive users, 365 dual users) remained in the final analytic sample. Pearson chi-square tests were used to examine associations between dual and exclusive users of electronic cigarettes, supply channels and possible difficulties in accessing e-cigarettes. Results For youth exclusive e-cigarette users most common source of obtaining their first e-cigarette was getting from a friend (47%) and vapor shops (22%), for dual users purchase in vapor shops (32%) and getting from a friend (30%). Teens buy mostly e-liquids in vapor shops (52%). Internet is the source for only 4,6% of them. Overall, only 7 % of youth e-cigarette users (10% in exclusive and 6% in dual users) reported having difficulty obtaining (purchasing or getting from other sources) an e-cigarette. Most youth reported no difficulty obtaining cartridges/e-liquid containing nicotine (93%). Conclusions In Poland, teenagers get their first e-cigarettes with the help of friends and in vapor shops. Internet is not a popular source of products. Mostly students did not have problems supplying themselves with electronic cigarettes and cartridges/e-liquids. Introduction of a regulation of age limit on e-cigarette sales should restrict the number of youth who start vaping. Continued surveillance efforts are needed to assess the effectiveness of this policy on curtailing youth e-cigarette use in Poland. Funding This work was supported by the Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland (Grant No KNW-2-127/D/6/N)